Opinion

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

The cooking and baking of Christmas all invokes poignant memories of holidays past, but none more so than stirring the fudge.

To ensure perfect fudge, you have to stir constantly, work rapidly and keep an eye on the timer if you don’t have a candy thermometer.

Sunday, as I stirred and stirred and stirred, I was taken back to my mother standing over a coal burning stove making Christmas treats. It became more difficult for her to do as the years rolled on due to a upper spine problem that caused her hands to go numb, but she did it anyway.

For me, I think the most memorable Christmas was in about 1984 or 1985. I had two brothers in the U.S. Marines at that time. They were both stationed overseas. My mom was so upset because it would be the first time ever that she didn’t have all six of her kids home.

She tried to hide it, but me being the youngest, I could tell that there was something wrong. My mom would just sit and cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she would just say “ Nothing baby girl. I’m OK.”

Last month you read my complaints about drawers—the wearable kind—that won’t droop the way I like and the fact that this nation now imports 95 per cent of all clothing available in our stores. I closed with this:

We are a nation of consumers—but we are not rational about how and what we buy. When we started importing goods with the excuse that they’re more “affordable,” we also started the death process of everything “made in the U.S.A.”

Chris Festo’s recent column about his experiences at Toys ‘R’ Us brought back memories about Christmas when I was a child. It’s a very long time ago.

Hearken back, those of you who can, to the early 1950’s. I was nine and my sister Kathy, five. (We were born on each side of WWII). On Dec. 23, Daddy’s birthday, he put up the tree (a real one) and the lights, and then we decorated it. Traditional tree balls, special ornaments, and tinsel, one strand at a time (I’ve always hated tinsel).

Ah, the holidays. the food, the family. the friends, the fighting. Wait. What?

I went to the Toys R Us in Gainesville this past Thursday as their sales started at midnight, thinking that I would rather stay up late than get up early.

I left the house around 10 p.m. and arrived at about 10:30. I was actually shocked by the line that was already there. I was standing about 100 yards from the entrance to the store, and within about 10 minutes there were about 20 people added behind me.

Someone once said that you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time, and a newspaper pretty much lives by that phrase.

With three months under my belt here at the Pioneer, I am still seeking ways, ideas and suggestions on how to make the paper reader-friendly and filled with a little something for everyone.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, I was returning from Tampa on I-75. As I neared mile marker 345, I watched a blue SUV strike the guardrail in the opposite lane, and overturn. I watched an object fly from the SUV so I called 911 and I stopped to assist. The object that was ejected turned out to be the young female driver. She had no pulse and was unresponsive to first aid.

Back in August, I was loading up my backpack for a three-week hike along the North Country National Scenic Trail and discovered my stash of unmentionables a bit shy. So I picked up a packet of ladies’ briefs on my next shopping excursion. I brought them home, ripped open the pack, and let loose a wailing, “Oh, no!” I checked the packaging: my usual brand; my usual size; but they looked wrong. I tried on a pair only to find that they wouldn’t go all the way on without more than a little shimmy action on my part.

We are writing this to share with Levy County what a wonderful tribute to military service personnel of all branches both past and present we had the pleasure of attending. This took place on Monday evening, Nov. 9, at our local Williston Elementary School.

We were invited by our niece, Sarah Smith who attends the fifth grade at WES.

She and her fellow classmates performed the combination musical/drama led by the first year music teacher, Carrie Olson and assisted by various other faculty.

“I have suffered the consequences;” “I apologize for what I did to the school;” and “I’m sorry for what I did.” These three phrases are quoted from the forced apologies given by three teenage girls a couple of weeks ago in front of more than 600 students during lunchtime at Bronson Middle High School. In June, the girls vandalized the campus, writing on walls with permanent marker the last day of school.

We are the source of all their wealth. They are the corporate elite, the collective proprietors of the company store who have raised themselves, by the sweat of our toil, to a position of unimaginable power and prosperity. They are the plunderers of resources, of lives and of dreams. While only one percent of the population, they have amassed 90 percent of the loot.

It’s no secret. Times are tough for local businesses. While the national and state news continues to broadcast concerns of a faltering economy, you really don’t even have to tune in to know that.

All you have to do is take a walk down just about any main street.

From your favorite pizzeria to your local hair salon, businesses are feeling the pinch of a weakened economy. People just aren’t eating out as often as they did. They’re going longer between haircuts. Many people are squeezing every cent that they can from their dollars.

Recently your paper ran an article by Andrea Rumbaugh about local farming practices and the environment. The basic concern was whether farmers contribute to environmental degradation with their use of chemical fertilizers and water use. These are good issues to bring before the public.